Kepler Target Search Help

Use the Kepler Target Search form to find
targets from the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC)
and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (IRT) catalog,
AND believed to be "on or near the detector".
The interface includes more targets, colors, and magnitudes than offered
in the Kepler target search interface however the validity
of the added fields has not been certified by the Kepler project.
The table contains roughly 15 million entries.
Of these, about 4.5 million are from the KIC, the rest are from
the IRT, KIS, GALEX, SDSS, and UBV catalogs.
Roughly 14.96 million targets are on the detector for at least one season.
The added colors and magnitudes come from SDSS, GALEX (FUV, NUV), KIS, UBV, and IRT (J).

Note about the KIC astrometry (RA, Dec, proper motion, parallax).
The source of the astrometric quantities depends on which
catalog (or catalogs) contain data for a given star. To ensure
the highest accuracy and to minimize systematic errors, the
hierarchy for the choice of astrometric values is as follows:

SCP (50 milliarcseconds but closer to Kepler epoch)

Hipparcos (10 milliarcseconds)

Tycho-2 for V brighter than 8.0 ( 20 milliarcseconds)

UCAC2 (40 milliarcseconds)

2MASS (70 milliarcseconds)

USNO-B1.0 (200 milliarcseconds)

The values listed in the KIC come from the first entry in this list
that contains each star. The source catalog should be consulted for
a detailed discussion of astrometric accuracy. The quantities listed
here are global averages.

Also note that KIC targets have four sets of the module, output, channel, row,
and column parameters, one set for each season. Non-KIC targets just list the
channel number. The
season information is included in the name of the field (e.g. MODULE_SEASON_0,
OUTPUT_SEASON_0, etc). Seasons run from 0 to 3,
roughly corresponding to Summer through Spring (in the northern hemisphere),
respectively. The web page /kepler/seasonstable.html
will display a table of start dates, season number, and quarter number.

General Search Options and Operators

Search values can be specified in several different ways, depending
on the data type of the field. In all cases, a single value can
be entered (although this is not recommented for floating point values).
In addition,
various operators can be included depending on the data type of the
field as described below.

The data types for each column can be displayed using the "Field Descriptions"
link at the top of all MAST search forms.

Numerical fields - Real (i.e., real,
numeric, float, or double) and Integer (i.e., long) fields can be
specified as a single value, as a single value with numerical operators
such as:

"< n", less than

">= n", greater than or equal

"!= n", not equal to

"\null", is NULL

"n..m", an inclusive range (e.g., "1990 .. 2000").

Bcause of small differences in stored floating point values, specifying
a single floating point value may not return the expected results.
Therefore, numerical or range operators are recommended with floating point
fields queries. Integers may be requested either way.

The number of digits displayed to the right of the
decimal point for floating point numbers is determined solely by the
data type. If the data type is "real" only 1 digit is displayed, and
for "numeric" 2 digits are displayed. "Float" data types have 3, and "double"
can have up to 8 or more.

String fields - String fields, also
known as "char" or "varchar" fields,
can use the following operators:

= (equal) which is the default,

!= (not equal, e.g., != SMALL),

\null for IS NULL ,

!\null for IS NOT NULL,

"*" or "%" wildcard operators (e.g. "Jup*").

By default, string searches use equals ("=") which runs faster
without wild cards but implies matches must be exact. For example, searching on
Target description = "Planet" will not
return an entry for "Planet:Jupiter". (There are some exceptions though such as
searching on Kepler Investigation ID will automatically include wild cards.)
Wildcards are allowed
and encouraged when an exact match is not desired, so in the previous
example, searching on Planet* would return all entries beginning with the word Planet.
Quotes are not necessary for string values.

Since moving to the Microsoft SQL Server database system in 2009, string
searches are no longer case-sensitive. Values will still be displayed in the same
case they were originally entered, but entries will be found regardless of the
case of the searched string (i.e., searching for HST id "go-5916" or "GO-5916"
will return the same entries).

Also, as with any data type, commas can be used to search for multiple entries.
For example, to search for all O3 and B3 stars from the Skiff catalog,
just enter O3*,B3*. Likewise, entering \null,<5 will return values that are
either null or less than 5. However, if nulls are used with comma-separated strings,
specify the strings first and in single quotes (e.g., 'hrs',\null ).

Substring fields - A few fields have a data type of "substring"
for which
wildcard operators are automatically added at the beginning and end of
the input string. For example, entering "Comets" for the K2 Object type
will search for "*comets*".
Commas still work as with other data types, so entering "Exoplanet,red" for the Kepler
condition flag (another substring field)
will search for condition flags = "*exoplanet*" or condition flags = "*red*".
Note these special cases do not apply to casjob searches.

Bibstring fields - Bibstrings are a special
string field for storing ADS bibcodes. A bibstring value has 19 characters,
and its assumed that no operators other than wild cards are included in
queries. This data type was mainly added because ".." was normally interpreted
as a range search request. For a bibstring field, specifying 2101ApJ..*
means find all entries whose bibcode begins with 2010ApJ..

Coordinate fields - Generally you can specify a variety
of formats for Right Ascension and Declination using either decimal
degrees or sexagesimal values (RA in decimal hours is
also available, but only as an output format option). The allowed search
formats are described in detail below.

Date fields - Dates can also be specified in a variety
of formats and can also use operators and inclusive range searches.
Here are some allowed/recommended examples:

jan-15-2009 .. feb-01-2010 (putting month before day doesn't work with dashes!)

Dec 15 2009 .. Dec 01 2009 (earlier date should be listed first)

Often queries on a single date will fail because the database can store
datetime fields to the millisecond and the matches must be exact. It is
preferable to use a range or the operators.
Note that when the time is not specified, the query will default to 00:00:00.
Therefore without specifying times, a range search would include the starting date
but exclude the ending date. Leaving off the day or month would work similarly.

To see the data type of a particular field, click on the form element
label or any of the help page links.
Note quotes are not needed for any values.
Note, searches on "null" values in fields of any data type
are now possible by entering \null.

By default, the various search criteria will be submitted
using logical AND's. Logical OR's
are not supported on most mission search forms except when using
commas within a single form element such as entering "hc230,srhlw"
for IUE program ID to return entries with ID hc230 OR srhlw..
Information on individual search form elements is listed below.
Note that specific examples given below do not necessarily apply
to all missions. The examples are merely intended to show valid
formats for data entry.

The name of a local file containing a table or list of
parameters such as coordinates, targets names, or data IDs
to be uploaded to the server
and used to query the database. The file must be a plain ASCII text
file (e.g., not DOC or RTF files) with either one entry per line
(e.g., a target name, a Data ID,
or a set of coordinates), or a table separated with one
of the allowed delimiters, with targets, Data IDs, or RA and Dec values in the
designated columns. Note in either case, only one entry per line is
extracted. If, for example, a comma-separated list of target names
is downloaded in one line, only the value in the designated column
will be used.

For security reasons, there are many restrictions on file uploads.
If you have trouble please contact the help desk.

The search script will perform a separate cone search for each
extracted target name or set of coordinates contained in
the uploaded list, with a separate table of results for each.
Target names will be resolved to coordinates.
If a resolver error occurs with target names,
the search will abort and the compiled results displayed.
(Note unresolved target names are not considered an error.)
Coordinates may be given using sexigesimal notation or decimal degrees.
When Data IDs or Kepler IDs are specified, the results
are displayed in a single table.
If the output is requested in CSV or Excel spreadsheet
format, a blank line will be used to distinguish the results of
one cone search from another. VOTable format incorporates
separate RESOURCE tags for each cone search.

Use the other form entries to specify field delimiters,
RA, DEC, or Target column numbers (when the file contains a table
of values), and file contents (target names or coordinates).
The browse button allows users to seach local directories to
locate files.

Warning: Since uploading long lists can take a while to run,
uploaded files are limited to 10,000 entries.

Specifies the contents of the local file to be uploaded.
The current choices are:
coordinates, target names, and Data IDs (or
for Kepler missions, Kepler IDs).

If "target name", or "coordinates" are specified,
each entry is treated as a
separate query. The results are displayed as each query is run. If
however "Data IDs" or "Kepler IDs" is specified, (up to 10,000 are allowed),
it is processed as a single query
(e.g., select * where data_id in (ID1,ID2,...).

Recently, Simbad has started adding Kepler IDs to its list of resolvable
target names.
This means that for Kepler (and perhaps eventually K2), an uploaded list
of IDs can be
treated as either "Target Names", which generate a set of cone searches,
or "Kepler IDs", which creates a single search result based on found IDs.
The advantage to the latter search is that all the search results are listed in
one table, and can be submitted for retrieval in one click.

To avoid displaying column names after each target name or coordinate
query, consider using the comma-separated values output format.
Also keep in mind that not all target names are resolvable. For example,
SIMBAD currently does not reolve most 2MASS IDs.

The column number containing either the Data ID, Right Ascension (decimal degrees or
sexagesimal), or target name (depending on how file_contents is set).
The default is to assume the first column is to be used.

For forms allowing coordinates as input, the
column number containing the Declnation (decimal degrees or sexagesimal).
The default is to assume the second column contains the DEC value.
If the file contents is set to Target Name or any Data ID, this
parameter is ignored.

The character used to delimit table entries in the uploaded
file. Allowed values include tabs( ), commas(,), vertical bar (|),
or semi-colons(;).
The default is to assume tabs are the delimiters.
If the file contains only a single column, use tabs as the delimiter.

The name of the astronomical object you want to search for. Examples
of valid names include gam Gem, NGC 1068, JUPITER, and hd 45677.
For Kepler, a sky-region limited mission, examples might be
14 Cyg, HR 7483, HD 181649, or NGC 6819.
Multiple target names can be entered if separated by commas, although
table sorting is turned off in these cases.

Kepler input catalog numbers are also accepted in forms such as:
kic1026032, kplr1026032, kepler1026032, or kplr001026032.
Kepler planet names can also be resolved when entered in a form
such as kepler-7, kepler-32b, etc.

K2 IDs from either EPIC or the Custom Aperture File (CAF)
starting with (case-insensitive) epic, k2, or ktwo
can also be resolved. Some, but not all, K2-discovered exoplanet
names can be resolved to the host stars coordinates
(e.g., K2-16, K2-97 b).

The Target Name is used in combination with the Resolver Field.
If the SIMBAD, CFA (SIMBAD at CfA), or NED (default) resolver option is
chosen, then coordinates returned from these services are used
to perform a cone search with the specified search radius.

For most mission searches, you do not HAVE to use the resolver.
Choose the "Don't resolve"
option to perform string searches on the object name in the database.
Note Kepler catalogs do not include a generic object name field,
so this option is not available for Kepler users.

When you search on the object name in the database (i.e. without
using the name resolver), case will be ignored. The object name
will not be wildcarded at the front and back automatically
(that's so if you innocently enter IO,
you don't match things like ORION). You can however
wildcard the object name using *
(for example, *IO*). You can also enter
a comma-separated list; for example,
*JUP*,*SAT* would match object names containing
either JUP or SAT.

Note that most missions store some target names
in a format that is not compatible with the NED or SIMBAD
name resolvers. For example, most 2MASS IDs are currently not resolveable
by SIMBAD.

This field describes how target names are to be handled.
If you want to resolve a target name into its coordinates,
use the default value "Resolve".
You can also elect to search the database by the target name itself
by choossing the "Don't Resolve" option.

The two main name resolver services are SIMBAD and NED.
NED
is the NASA Extragalactic Database at Caltech in Pasadena, California, and
SIMBAD
is the Set of Identifications, Measurements, and Bibliography for
Astronomical Data at the Centre de Données astronomiques
in Strasbourg, France (SIMBAD at CDS).
A mirror site at the Center for Astrophysics
in Boston is also now available.
NED is an extragalactic database, and generally won't
resolve object names within the Milky Way galaxy.

Because we occasionally have problems with network connections and web
servers, we now store previously resolved target names and coordinates
in our own local database and search this database before
trying to access NED or SIMBAD.
By default, If no entry is found in the local cache,
the entered object names will be sent to the NED service,
and, if still not found, then CDS.

If any error occurs, the search form will
be redrawn with an error message at the top. Otherwise, the returned
coordinates will then be used to search
the database, along with whatever other query qualifications you have given.

We recommend that you use object name resolution to find observations of specific
stationary targets. This is the most reliable way to look up observations,
because the observer could have given any object name
at all (for example, NGC1976 instead of M42, or PARALLEL-FIELD).

The SIMBAD and NED name resolvers can resolve only fixed objects;
they cannot compute the positions of moving objects (planets, comets, etc.).
To find moving objects, try selecting the appropriate category option available on most
MAST search forms, or as mentioned above, enter an object name that could match what you're
looking for, and select "Don't Resolve" for the name resolver.
Note wild cards are allowed, so for Jupiter you might enter "*JUP*".

The Right Ascension and Declination values. If single values are
entered, a cone search is performed using the specified search radius
(default = 3 arcminutes for most missions, 0.02 arcmin. for Kepler).
Values may be entered in decimal degrees or using sexagesimal notation.
Although decimal hours is NOT an allowed input format, Right Ascension
search results may optionally be displayed as decimal hours
(see the "Output Coords" form element).

Note the examples listed below (and elsewhere) are only intended to
show the format of the form entries. There is no guarantee that entering
these specific values will return any search results.

You may also enter ranges of right ascension or declination,
using the ".." operator. For example, you can enter
21h 51m .. 21h 52m for the right ascension, and
28 51 .. 29 51 for the declination.
Comparators can also be used, i.e. ">", ">=", " 85" as a declination value will return
all observations with declination larger than 85 degrees.
(Note when ranges of coordinates are specified the search
radius will be ignored. Also, searches on ranges can be
quite time consuming.)

Coordinate values may be specified using a number of
formats. Examples of valid formats include:

Spacing is not important, as long as the value is unambiguous. You can
delimit the hours/degrees, minutes, and (optional) seconds with letters,
colons, spaces, or any character that's not a digit or a decimal point.
Like target names, multiple coordinates can be entered if separated by commas.

The radius of the search box around the RA and Dec, in floating-point arcminutes
(e.g., 5.0). You should be careful about giving too restrictive a search radius
since (for some missions) the coordinates of the object were given
by the Guest Observer, and may not reflect the precise pointing of the instrument
at the time of the observation.

The search routine computes the angular
separation between each result dataset and the search center so this really is
a circular radius. (Results are generally sorted on the angular separation by default.)

The equinox of the RA and Dec you have entered, either B1900,
B1950 or J2000.
If B1900 or B1950 are selected,
the input coordinates are precessed to year 2000,
but NOT converted to FK5 or ICRS. This will add an error which (from year 1900)
can range from a few arcseconds up to roughly 25" at the poles.

Note the precession is only applied to the input coordinates.
The coordinates displayed in the search
results will depend on the mission database and the selected output columns. (Note:
all MAST missions include J2000 coordinates as default output columns.)

If you enter a target name and use either the SIMBAD or NED name resolver,
the equinox will be set to J2000.

A unique sequential integer ID assigned by Kepler project.
Values run from 482,000 to over 13 million.
Searches can be made for specific values
(e.g., 12345678), ranges (e.g., 100 .. 150),
or using < or > symbols (e.g., < 20).
(See the MasterID field for a list of IDs including non-KIC targets.)

If set to "KIC Targets only", which is the default,
only targets listed in the Kepler Input Catalog
are returned. KIC+UBV+KIS+GALEX+SDSS will alow targets in any of these
catalogs to be retrieved. "Targets from all Catalogs"
will search all the current targets (which basically adds IRT).

Currently there are a total of about
15 million targets. Of these 4.5 million are
listed in the Kepler Input Catalog, 9.2 million in IRT,
11.4 million in KIS, 4 million in USNOb,
2.8 million in UBV, 1 million in SDSS, and 0.2 million for GALEX.
Of course many targets are found in more than one catalog.

Note that many fields in the table such as Kepler ID
and Teff are only defined for KIC targets.

Choose the periods for which targets must be on the detector.
The default ("any") implies the target(s) must be on the detector
for at least one season. The other options include:

"all" (target must always be on the detector)

"season_0" (target is on the detector for at least season_0),

"season_1" (target is on the detector for at least season_1),

"season_2" (target is on the detector for at least season_2),

"season_3" (target is on the detector for at least season_3),

"unspecified" (target is on or near the detector),
Note that of the total ~12.5 million entries, roughly 75,000
are considered near, but never on, the detector. These entries are normally
excluded from the search UNLESS the user selects the "unspecified" option.
All the "near" targets are KIC targets since non-KIC targets are only
included if they are on the detector for at least one season.
See the calculating distances
page for more details on how the "seasons on ccd" values were defined.

Specify the minimum distance a target (i.e., from the photometric aperture
for most KIC targets and from the target position for non-KIC targets)
may be from the edge of the
detector for at least one season. For example, if you only want targets at least 50 pixels
from the closest edge, enter 50. Range is -8 to 511
(negative distances were used for non-KIC targets).
Distances for specific seasons can be
specified using the "user-specified field" form elements.
Note: do not use "", or other numerical operators
for this form element.
See the calculating distances
page for more details on how these values were defined.

A list of colors and magnitudes derived from the KIC,
2MASS, GALEX (NUV, FUV), KIS, UBV, SDSS, and IRT catalogs.
Select the color or magnitude to query and
enter the value in the adjacent box. Numerical operators can be included
(e.g., for gr values less than 2, select "gr" from the menu and enter
"< 2" for the value). Click on the "field descriptions" link to see the range
of values for each entry.

A list of colors and magnitudes derived from the KIC,
2MASS, GALEX (NUV, FUV), KIS, UBV, SDSS, and IRT catalogs.
Select the color or magnitude to query and
enter the value in the adjacent box. Numerical operators can be included
(e.g., for gr values less than 2, select "gr" from the menu and enter
"< 2" for the value). Click on the "field descriptions" link to see the range
of values for each entry.

You may use these form elements to search on any column(s)
in the mission table. First, select the field
you wish to search from the pulldown menu under the "User-specified field n" heading.
Then, type in the qualification in the corresponding "Field Descriptions" box.
Clicking on the "Field Descriptions" link, will display information on the allowed fields
including the allowed range of values.

As an example, a Kepler user might select "E(B-V)" from the pulldown menu and
enter "< 0.5" in the "Field Descriptions" box.

NOTE only fields which are not already
included on the search form should be selected. Specifying search criteria
for a field that is listed in BOTH the form and in the User Specified field, may
cause either the query to fail or return unexpected results.

This form element allows you to determine which columns
are displayed and in what order.
The initial list contains those designated as defaults, but it
may be possible to add more.
(Its possible a project decided all columns should be
displayed by default.)

To remove a column, highlight the column to be removed
then click the "remove" button to the right of the output columns list.
To remove all columns, click the "remove all" button. This is useful
when only a few output columns are desired. If a search
is submitted with all columns removed, it will display the original
set of default columns.

To add a column, select the desired
column from the pull down menu beneath the list of chosen output columns,
then click the "add" button. The column will be added to the bottom
of the output column list. To add all the available columns, click the
"add all" button.

You can change the order of columns by highlighting a column and
then clicking the up or down buttons to the right of the list of
chosen output columns. Each click moves the column by one position.
Note the "Mark" column, which allows data sets to be retrieved, will
always appear at the top of the list. If desired though it can be removed.

The output columns form element has its own "reset" button to restore
the list of output columns to the original defaults.
This is different than the "Reset" button at the top of the form
which is used to reset the other form elements.
Clicking the "clear form" button will restore the original defaults in
all sections of the form.

One warning, the amount of memory required and possibly the execution time
for a search is proportional to the amount of information returned.
For large requests, users may want to
reduce the number of output columns to the minimum required. Also consider
non-html output formats and the "Skip formatting" option.

By default, when using "file upload mode", the
message "No Records Found Matching Query" (or for non-html output,
"no rows found") is displayed for each entry with no search results.
Also, for non-html output, a line is now added for each entry
in the uploaded file
stating the entry number and target name or coordinates
used for that particular database query.
Clicking this button will prevent either of these messages
from appearing in the output which may be useful
for reducing output from large search results and/or for
parsing the CSV-style output.

If checked when using "file upload mode" to search on coordinates
or targets and when specifying
a csv-like output format, a number will be
prepended to each row of search results indicating the position
of the input target in the uploaded list of targets.
For example, if 10 entries were found for the 5th target listed in the
uploaded file, each of those 10 rows would have a 5 in the first column.
This can be useful for correlating search results to input targets
when multiple targets are searched. Note Data ID search results which
all appear in one output table will NOT have entry numbers since
they are all returned in one database query.

Verb is an integer parameter used by the VO community for specifying the
amount of output returned for a given search request. It is only
available when retrieving data as a web service but works with every
MAST service. Setting verb=3 in a search request is equivalent to
specifying "add all" from a search form;
it will return all the available columns in the output not just the standard
default fields. Currently setting verb to any other value has no effect.

Choose how you want the output rows sorted. You can select
up to three fields to sort on. The rows will be sorted in the order of
the first sort field; if two rows have the same sort field, they will be
sorted in order of the second sort field, and so on. Default sort fields
may be listed, but any field from the pulldown list can be used.
Specifying multiple sort fields may increase execution time.
If you prefer no sorting, you can specify "null" for all 3 fields.
This may speed up the query, but results will be displayed in
the order in which they were originally stored in the database table.

For each field, you can select that the rows be sorted in reverse
order on that field by selecting the reverse checkbox. For example,
you can sort the rows with the most recent observations first by selecting
Observation Date for the first sort field and selecting
the reverse checkbox next to it.

One word of caution: the selected sort field can change the search results
when the query finds more rows than are displayed ( i.e, when the number of
found rows exceeds the value of "maximum records"). For example, for a search
on a particular coordinate that finds 5,000 entries, if the search
is sorted on exposure time
and 1,001 rows are to be displayed (the default), then the 1,001
shortest exposures
from the 5,000 found entries will be displayed
which may not include the entries closest to the
desired position. (It is a good idea to always sort on "ang_sep" for target or
coordinate searches).

Finally, note that when displaying the search results in HTML, further sorting is
possible based on any of the displayed columns simply by clicking the column header.
Even columns using sexigesimal notation can now be correctly sorted. Clicking a
header a 2nd time will reverse the order. Reloading the page will return results
to the original order.
(This sorting is performed using javascript, so javascript needs to be enabled.)

This value specifies the maximum number of rows returned in a
single query. For the standard mission search forms, the current
default is 5,001, but values from 1 to 50,001 are allowed.
For the file upload forms in which multiple targets, data ID's, or
coordinates can be specified, the default is set to 20 rows per file entry,
with allowed values ranging from 1 to 5,000.

Note when displayed as HTML, the latest search scripts will display
500 records per page. Links to the additional pages are shown
on the results page.
This paging feature however does require javascript to be turned on.

Users should be cautioned about retrieving a large number of records
(i.e., > 10,000 - 15,000) in HTML format. This can cause memory
problems for the browser (particulrly Safari) and prevent javascript
commands from functioning. It may also cause the browser to freeze
and require restarting.
Using the output format options which download results in a file can reduce the
problem.

Another option for large requests is to use "Casjobs".
Casjobs requires requesting a user name and password, and submitting
queries in SQL, but it allows users to submit large search results and
save them online. For Kepler, the link ito Casjobs is
http://mastweb.stsci.edu/kplrcasjobs/.
For other missions, check the Search_Retrieve page in the left gutter.

When queries are submitted as a web service, the default number of rows
returned is 2,000, but any value is allowed when max_records is specified
as a query parameter. A practical limit might be 25,000.
(See the MAST Web services page for
more information.)

This parameter controls the number of records displayed per web page.
By default, 500 rows or records are displayed per HTML page. Therefore if
2000 records are returned, links to 4 pages will be displayed at the
top and bottom of the results table.
The paging feature however uses
javascript, so if javascript is turned off, paging won't work
and only the rows shown on the first page can be displayed. This is
one reason why increasing the default value may be helpful.
Note this value is ignored when output formats other than HTML are selected.

Selecting this checkbox will restrict the display to only rows in which
every output column value for a given row is unique. This option is primarily useful
when only a small number of columns are displayed (i.e., using the "remove"
button to remove default output columns) and when the selected columns
have duplicate values. Including columns which already have unique values (e.g.
Kepler ID or Data ID)
will make the "Distinct" option ineffective.

As an example, a IUE or FUSE user might want to create a list of unique target
names for a specific object class/category. He or she would specify the desired object
class, select only "object Class" and "target name" for the output columns,
click the "Make Rows Distinct" button, then click "Search".

Note that for some missions, columns such as RA, Dec and Magnitude were frequently defined
by the observer and often have different values for the same target.
If columns such as these are chosen as output columns, there will often
be more than one row listed per object name.

After the search results are retrieved from the database,
selecting this option will remove columns with all
null values. Zeroes are maintained.
In some cases selecting this option can reduce the execution times,
but it can also take longer depending on the
number of null columns and the number of columns selected.

Removing null columns is primarily useful for
sparsely-populated tables
when a large number of columns are requested. Note for the
HSC summary form this option is selected by default.

After the results are retrieved from the database, some
reformatting is done.
This includes converting decimal degrees to sexagesimal format,
restricting the number of significant numbers displayed for
certain data types,
changing date formats, etc. Since this processing may be applied
to every row and column, and as catalogs keep getting larger,
this step can significantly slow down large requests
(e.g., queries returning more than a few thousand rows).
Checking this box will skip these steps and thereby reduce
execution times.

You may choose any of the
following formats for displaying/storing search results.
If you are using a browser (e.g., Firefox, etc) to submit a query
from a MAST web form, the formats labelled "File: ..." offer a
way to download results directly to your local computer.
The names shown below are the actual values specified
in a GET request or as an API request. The description in parentheses is how the
option will appear on the MAST classic search forms.

Excel_Spreadsheet (Excel_Spreadsheet) - results are downloaded
as an Excel spreadsheet file.
(Note: assumes users computer/browser provides support for Excel-format files).
The default file name when downloaded is "mission"_search.xls where "mission"
is the mission name (e.g., fuse_search.xls).

VOTable (VOTable) - an XML format adopted by the Virtual Observatory (VO)
project and displayed in the user's browser. Note coordinates in VOTable
format are always in decimal degrees rather than sexagesimal format.
For searches returning results from more than one mission and/or target,
multiple "resource" tags are created. Searches with a radius of 0
will return a VOTable file listing the output fields for that particular
mission/catalog. (For more information on the XML file format,
see VOTable documentation.)

CSV (Comma-separated values) - a simple ASCII array containing
column headings followed by rows of comma-separated values. In file upload mode,
a blank line is inserted between the search results to separate multiple target queries.

SSV (Space-separated values) - a simple ASCII array containing
column headings followed by rows of space-separated values.
In file upload mode,
a blank line is inserted between the search results to separate multiple target queries.
Note users may want to select
coordinates in decimal rather than sexagesimal format to maintain the
correspondence between column headings and entries although some column
headings may contain blanks as well.
(Semi-colons, pipes, or commas are probably safer delimiters.)

IRAF (IRAF Space-separated w/INDEFs) - Like the space-separated format
above except empty fields are replaced with the string "INDEF". This format is useful
for IRAF-compatibility.

CSV_file (File: comma-separated values) -
a simple ASCII text file containing
column headings followed by rows of comma-separated values. In file upload mode,
a blank line is inserted between the search results to separate multiple target queries.
Rather than being displayed in the browser, the results are directly downloaded
to the users computer using the file name "mission"_search.txt where "mission" is
the mission name (e.g., hst_search.txt). Depending on the
browser settings, the user may be prompted for a file location before the
file is downloaded.

SSV_file (File: Space-separated values) -
a simple ASCII text file containing
column headings followed by rows of space-separated values. In file upload mode,
a blank line is inserted between the search results to separate multiple target queries.
Rather than being displayed in the browser, the results are directly downloaded
to the users computer using the file name "mission"_search.txt where "mission" is
the mission name (e.g., hst_search.txt). Depending on the
browser settings, the user may be prompted for a file location before the
file is downloaded.

SSV_file (File: Semicolon-separated values) -
a simple ASCII text file containing
column headings followed by rows of semicolon-separated values. In file upload mode,
a blank line is inserted between the search results to separate multiple target queries.
Rather than being displayed in the browser, the results are directly downloaded
to the users computer using the file name "mission"_search.txt where "mission" is
the mission name (e.g., hst_search.txt). Depending on the
browser settings, the user may be prompted for a file location before the
file is downloaded.

PSV_file (File: Pipe-separated values) -
a simple ASCII text file containing
column headings followed by rows of pipe-separated values.
(Note: not offered in file upload mode.)
Rather than being displayed in the browser, the results are directly downloaded
to the users computer using the file name "mission"_search.txt where "mission" is
the mission name (e.g., hst_search.txt). Depending on the
browser settings, the user may be prompted for a file location before the
file is downloaded.

JSON_file (File: Json format) - Javascript Object Notation (json) is a
simple machine and
human-readable, name/value ASCII format supported by many programming languages.
Rather than being displayed in the browser, the results are directly downloaded
to the users computer using the file name "mission"_search.txt where "mission" is
the mission name (e.g., hst_search.txt). Depending on the
browser settings, the user may be prompted for a file location before the
file is downloaded.

WGET_file (File: WGET Commands) - This option is only available for
certain missions. If selected, a shell script file is
output which the user
can execute from his own computer to download all the selected
files with one command. The shell script
file uses the "WGET" program which is available for most operating systems.
Note for Kepler, two WGET options are available:
"File: WGET LC commands" will create a script for downloading available light curves,
"File: WGET TPF commands" (also available for K2) will create a script for
downloading target pixel files.
For Swift, the WGET option will create a script for downloading
the Sky coordinate images.

CURL_file (File: CURL Commands) - Like the WGET command,
this option is only available for
certain missions. If selected, a shell script file is
output which the user
can execute from his own computer to download all the selected
files with one command. The shell script
file uses the "CURL" program which is available for most operating systems.
Note for Kepler, two CURL options are available:
"File: CURL LC commands" will create a script for downloading available light curves,
"File: CURL TPF commands" (also available for K2) will create a script for
downloading target pixel files.
For Swift, the CURL option will create a script for downloading
the Sky coordinate images.

Note: If no entries are found for an entry a
"no entries found" message is written in the selected format and
the program continues.
In all cases, error conditions will cause the database search to abort.

MAST expresses its appreciation to all those who have made contributions possible for the addition of new colors and new objects in the Kepler field. We detail these contributions in the
acknowledgments.